Santa Monica College

OCC held on to its title as the top transfer school in the county to California public universities. In addition, it has stayed at second in the state, behind Santa Monica College. The news comes from the California Postsecondary Education Commission, a state agency that ranked California’s 109 community colleges by how many students transferred to California State University and University of California schools. OCC sent 1,874 students to those schools in the 2007-08 school year, of which 529 were transfers to the UC system — also the highest number in the county.

COSTA MESA - Vanguard University men's basketball coach Stephen French has received commitments from three players who will join the Lions next season. Conrad Adamczak of Los Angeles, James Hartman of San Clemente and Kyle Egkan of Anaheim Hills have signed letters of intent to play for Vanguard. Adamczak, a 6-foot-4 guard, played two seasons for Santa Monica College and will transfer in as a junior. Adamczak earned All-CIF and all-state recognition in high school when he helped lead Pacific Hills High to a state championship.

Former Newport Harbor High libero Sean Grubbs has committed to Pepperdine, where he will play volleyball in the upcoming season. Grubbs, who graduated from Newport Harbor in 2006, spent one year at Irvine Valley College, where he played in all 79 games and averaged 2.54 digs per game in the Lasers' championship season this year. Irvine Valley won the Pacific Coast Conference title and the state championship, in which Grubbs had a team-high 10 digs. He finished with a season-high 18 digs in IVC's five-game state tournament semifinal win over Pierce.

TODAY Basketball College women -- UC Irvine at Texas-El Paso, 6 p.m.; Vanguard vs. Union at Rotary Classic at Union University, Jackson, Tenn., 8 p.m. Cross country College women -- Vanguard at NAIA national championships at Tom Sawyer State Park in Louisville, KY, 10:30 a.m. Community college men and women -- Orange Coast College at state meet at Woodward Park in Fresno, 9 a.m. High school boys and girls -- CIF finals at Mt. San Antonio College.

Orange Coast College got somewhat of a monkey off its back when the Pirates defeated Golden West's women's volleyball team Saturday. Now the Pirates want to hold a championship plaque over their heads after they play at the Championship Festival in Fresno, where eight teams will vie for the state title. Orange Coast, the defending state champion, will face Shasta at 3 p.m. on Friday at Fresno Pacific University. The championship match is on Sunday. The Pirates' women's soccer team is also trying to advance to the four-team state tournament, which is also at Fresno Pacific University.

COSTA MESA — Two weeks without practicing finally took a toll on Kevin Welch at the wrong time. Welch looked winded and the Orange Coast College men’s volleyball team lost his services. The Pacific Coast Conference Co-Player of the Year sat on the bench uneasy, bad back and all. His team had just won back-to-back games after dropping Game 1. The chances of Welch reentering soon, not the greatest as Orange Coast Coach Travis Turner tried to save him. Santa Barbara City College appeared in control and on its way to forcing a decisive Game 5 in the Southern California Regional playoffs Tuesday.

The Orange Coast College football team will take on Mt. San Antonio in the U.S. Bank Beach Bowl on Saturday at 4 p.m. at Santa Monica College, the Commission on Athletics announced Sunday. The Pirates (7-3) dropped out of the state championship tournament picture with Saturday's 17-13 loss to rival Golden West, but with the Southern California region's No. 8 ranking, they still earned the bowl and will face the No. 7 Mounties (8-2). Mt. SAC finished the regular season as the American Division's co-champion with Palomar, but was denied a berth in the state championship tournament by way of a 42-7 loss to the Comets on Nov. 4. Palomar (6-4)

The Coast Community College District chancellor will respond Wednesday to campus safety concerns that faculty voiced earlier this year. This spring, the academic senates at Orange Coast College and Golden West College passed resolutions hoping to spark a dialogue with the administration about security. OCC faculty members listed some specific worries they have such as doors opening outward or locking only from the outside and uncertainty about what to do in a lockdown situation.

A number of former Orange Coast College football players are firming up arrangements to continue their career at four-year schools, Pirates Coach Mike Taylor said. Chris Assily, a first-team All-Mission Conference National Division safety who was also named all-state by the California Community College Football Coaches Assn., has committed to continue at San Jose State, Taylor said. Receiver Damola Adeniji (Oregon State), quarterback Kekoa Crowell (Montana Western) and defensive back Andrew Fuller (Portland State)

SANTA MONICA — First impressions held form in the case of the men's volleyball teams from Orange Coast College and Long Beach City. Long Beach City swept the season opener Feb. 7 and the Vikings prevailed Friday night, 30-24, 25-30, 30-24, 30-25, in the semifinals of the California Community College Commission on Athletics championships at Santa Monica College. The loss ended the Pirates' season at 17-4 and denied them what would have been the program's 11th trip to a state title match.

The Coast Community College District chancellor will respond Wednesday to campus safety concerns that faculty voiced earlier this year. This spring, the academic senates at Orange Coast College and Golden West College passed resolutions hoping to spark a dialogue with the administration about security. OCC faculty members listed some specific worries they have such as doors opening outward or locking only from the outside and uncertainty about what to do in a lockdown situation.

COSTA MESA — The plan was to flip the lineup, not the script. But visiting Santa Monica College was clearly not willing to play the feeble victim against Orange Coast College in the quarterfinals of the California Community College Athletic Assn. men’s volleyball state championship Tuesday night. The Corsairs, who were swept by the Pirates on Feb. 24 at OCC, required much more convincing this time, though the Pirates advanced with a 32-30, 30-27, 30-20 triumph. OCC (17-2)

OCC held on to its title as the top transfer school in the county to California public universities. In addition, it has stayed at second in the state, behind Santa Monica College. The news comes from the California Postsecondary Education Commission, a state agency that ranked California’s 109 community colleges by how many students transferred to California State University and University of California schools. OCC sent 1,874 students to those schools in the 2007-08 school year, of which 529 were transfers to the UC system — also the highest number in the county.

COSTA MESA — Two weeks without practicing finally took a toll on Kevin Welch at the wrong time. Welch looked winded and the Orange Coast College men’s volleyball team lost his services. The Pacific Coast Conference Co-Player of the Year sat on the bench uneasy, bad back and all. His team had just won back-to-back games after dropping Game 1. The chances of Welch reentering soon, not the greatest as Orange Coast Coach Travis Turner tried to save him. Santa Barbara City College appeared in control and on its way to forcing a decisive Game 5 in the Southern California Regional playoffs Tuesday.

While much of the Orange Coast College campus remains under construction, Pirates football players traded their hard hats for their more familiar helmets as they moved into their new locker room facility to prepare for the upcoming season. Pirates Coach Mike Taylor, entering his eighth season, hopes they will also make themselves at home on Nov. 17, when the program will play host to a bowl game organized with the help of sponsorship dollars. OCC has been to bowl games the last two seasons, the program’s first back-to-back postseason appearances since 1992-93.

Former Newport Harbor High libero Sean Grubbs has committed to Pepperdine, where he will play volleyball in the upcoming season. Grubbs, who graduated from Newport Harbor in 2006, spent one year at Irvine Valley College, where he played in all 79 games and averaged 2.54 digs per game in the Lasers' championship season this year. Irvine Valley won the Pacific Coast Conference title and the state championship, in which Grubbs had a team-high 10 digs. He finished with a season-high 18 digs in IVC's five-game state tournament semifinal win over Pierce.

SANTA MONICA — First impressions held form in the case of the men's volleyball teams from Orange Coast College and Long Beach City. Long Beach City swept the season opener Feb. 7 and the Vikings prevailed Friday night, 30-24, 25-30, 30-24, 30-25, in the semifinals of the California Community College Commission on Athletics championships at Santa Monica College. The loss ended the Pirates' season at 17-4 and denied them what would have been the program's 11th trip to a state title match.

A number of former Orange Coast College football players are firming up arrangements to continue their career at four-year schools, Pirates Coach Mike Taylor said. Chris Assily, a first-team All-Mission Conference National Division safety who was also named all-state by the California Community College Football Coaches Assn., has committed to continue at San Jose State, Taylor said. Receiver Damola Adeniji (Oregon State), quarterback Kekoa Crowell (Montana Western) and defensive back Andrew Fuller (Portland State)

Orange Coast College got somewhat of a monkey off its back when the Pirates defeated Golden West's women's volleyball team Saturday. Now the Pirates want to hold a championship plaque over their heads after they play at the Championship Festival in Fresno, where eight teams will vie for the state title. Orange Coast, the defending state champion, will face Shasta at 3 p.m. on Friday at Fresno Pacific University. The championship match is on Sunday. The Pirates' women's soccer team is also trying to advance to the four-team state tournament, which is also at Fresno Pacific University.

SANTA MONICA ? First, Mt. San Antonio College's Jake Fadden gave the Orange Coast College secondary something to fear. Then, the freshman quarterback gave the Pirates something to chase. Either way, the Pirates (7-4) never quite caught up to the Mounties (9-2), who prevailed, 29-20, in the U.S. Bank Beach Bowl Saturday at Santa Monica College. Fadden gave the Mounties a quick lead by throwing a 54-yard touchdown bomb to Eric Walker, who had sprinted past OCC cornerback Derrell Perkins, on the second play of the football game.